In designing repetitive batch-type ice cube makers for refrigerators, it is known to provide a rotatably mounted resilient cube tray which is twisted and rotated to eject ice therefrom during the cube harvest cycle. Such arrangements for domestic refrigerators are known to employ an electrically operated fill valve actuated to refill the tray immediately following cube harvest.
In known devices for making ice in a refrigerator of the aforesaid type, a motorized electromechanical programmer is typically employed to drive the tray twisting and rotating mechanism, and to additionally control the actuation of a switch for energizing and de-energizing the fill valve. Where an electromechanical programmer is employed for driving the mechanism for the cube harvest cycle in the aforesaid type icemakers, it is also known to employ a collector bin or receptacle for receiving the harvested ice from the tray and to have an interruptable member operated by the programmer sweep across the open rim of the bin for detecting the present of accumulated ice above the peripheral rim of the collector bin. In the aforesaid icemakers it is known to have interruption of the bin sweep member by ice accumulated above the bin operative to open a switch for cutting power to the programmer drive motor thereby terminating operation of the harvest cycle and the programmer.
In the latter type of icemaker, it is also known to employ a thermally responsive switch series connected with the programmer drive motor in order that the harvest program cycle is started by closure of the thermally responsive switch, only when the temperature sensed in the tray has reached a level indicative of hard freeze of the water in the tray.
The above described presently known tray type icemakers for refrigerators usually have the electromechanical programmer designed to actuate a switch for energizing the water flow valve upon completion of the rotation and twisting of the tray for harvesting the cubes into the bin.
However, in operation of known twist tray ice cube makers for refrigerators, and particularly those of the type employing a motorized mechanical programmer, it has been found that, upon completion of the cube harvest cycle, there may be insufficient heat transfer from the tray water refill to reset or open the thermally responsive switch in series with the programmer motor. This has been found to be particularly a problem where a cube fails to eject from the tray in the vicinity immediately adjacent the temperature responsive sensor in the tray. Such failure of the cube to be ejected near the sensor has caused the sensor switch to not be reset to the open position for stopping the harvest cycle. Therefore, it has long been desired to find a way or means of positively resetting the thermally responsive switch means upon completion of the ice harvest cycle in tray type refrigerator icemakers.